Most public relations majors are familiar with the term APR, and for the rest of you, listen closely: APR, or Accredited in Public Relations,  identifies a person nationally accepted by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) as competent in the practice of public relations. Former PRSA president and CEO Del Galloway will tell anyone that those three little letters mean the world if you’re trying to make it in PR.

“It’s like a good house-keeping stamp of approval,” he said. “It means you understand how to execute the strategic process of PR.”

When Galloway was in charge of PRSA, his main campaign was establishing this universally recognized distinction.

“Many of these organizations had their own credentials,” Galloway said, equating the various PR credits to “alphabet soup”. The distasteful part of that soup? No one knew which to trust, Galloway said, which created subsequent hiring issues amongst PR and advertising agencies as well as their respective clients.

“We had to pull a group together to establish APR as the one people would recognize,” Galloway said. “That was highly political. We had different organizations vying for power.”

Now, APR prospectives must sit for a six hour exam as well as an oral component.

“You have to talk to a panel of accredited professionals and present your point of view of the profession,” said Galloway.

Galloway, a 1983 Gator grad, had a lot to say regarding the University of Florida.

“When companies are looking to hire from top PR programs, UF is always on that short list,” he said. “It was a strong, loyal community of PR students at UF.”

Galloway was actively involved in the Public Relations Student Society of America (http://www.prssa.org/) at UF, the student division of PRSA. Galloway was a Florida team member for PRSSA’s Bateman competition, a nationwide case study involving analysis of various corporate and non-profit organizations.

“UF won the Bateman multiple years,” said Galloway, reporting a message that holds true today: UF has been either first, runner-up, or honorably mentioned in seven of the past nine years of the competition.

Upon graduating with a masters degree in Public Relations, Galloway was recruited by Young and Rubicam, one of the largest, most prestigious PR/advertising agencies.

Galloway said he differentiated himself from other PR students by being proactive and involved on campus.

“I always had this desire and willingness to go the extra mile. I am not the brightest guy in the room, but I’m going to apply myself more,” said Galloway.

Galloway worked for several other PR firms before settling at Husk Jennings Advertising. Ten years later when the firm was acquired, it was known in Jacksonville as Husk Jennings Galloway and Partners.

“I just applied myself,” Galloway said. “I surrounded myself with really bright people, and I worked really hard.”

Husk Jennings Galloway and Partners (now known as “On Ideas” http://www.onideas.com/) handles big-name clients AT&T, Marriot, Citigroup, Siemens, and GE.

“Increasingly, in the C-suite, they’re starting to recognize the importance of PR,” Galloway said, citing the corporate scandals involving Enron and Worldcom as inciting occurrences.

“Business people sometimes see [PR] as something to do on the side, but it’s an extension of the business,” said Galloway.

Galloway rose through the ranks of PRSA, first becoming involved on the state level and later serving as a director on the board before running for president.

“There’s no secret to it. PR is about cultivating healthy relationships with a variety of stakeholders,” said Galloway. “We look holistically at organizations’ reputations and relationships with multiple audiences.” Galloway frequently referred to PR as the “conscience” of an organization.

Galloway, like many successful alum, advised passion before profit. “Do something you love. I think success is when you can find that sweet spot of talent, interest, and intuition, and marry that with an organization’s needs.”

Galloway’s passion for helping organizations realize their full potential through good public relations is likely a large factor in his success.

“When you wake up, it has to be all you think about, what you breathe, an innate part of you. Find what that is, and marry that with the industry.”

Galloway is now vice president of public relations at United Way, and is still actively involved in PRSA. To read more on PRSA, click here: http://www.prsa.org/

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